Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-05-01

HNSXLLkfrSS III VlhV - ~ pANoA 49,
}TI -ZgI sli'a eaNn man
NS y school; :. i had
~ Just alighted
~ 49,, oP "sRowLER." at Liverpool
Street Station, the terminus OF the Great
Eastern Railway, and fifteen or twenty
cabs were drawn up on the opposite side
of the platform, awaiting the London ex-
nrass He was not one of those men who
dwell in the high but foggy atmosphere oil
q Hanson. but the commonplace driver OF
an ordinary "hy," as we call them in
Norfolk, or ''growler," as they are no"
designated in London. He was the sort
of men who gets off the box, looks after
the luggage, and has a compliment Tor the
nretty housemaid who responds 10 the
ring. CHATS the boots" if your destlna-
ton is q hotel, cracks joke with the
porter if it is railway station, and touches
his hat for a little "beer money, should
YOU forget that important matter IN the
ethics of English cab-hiring. In all tins,
as | shall presently show, the driver OF a
four-wheeler is very different being to
the presiding genius OF a Hanson.
The individual who took charge oil my
boxes m he called them, and into whose
Keeping committed myself, was rather
tall, with ruddy face, well colored nose,
iron gray hair and side whiskers. lie
affected what is popularity known as a
plug hat, but which was so precisely the
color of London smoke that it might have
originally been made of any material. The
brim was fat and the crown high, and 1t
was crowded down firmly over the cab
mans head. Under his long, time-worn
and weather soaked coat was a dark blue
wooden Guernsey, such as fishermen wear
in England and wrapped twice around the
throat, dark kerchief with white spots
1.-The luggageis hall 'hup' sir. Where
10 sir? Mo- Great Russell street,
| Bedford Square"
Thank We sir" A touch of the hat, a
sway of the 'grOwler" to one side, ascabby
mounted the box, 4 crack of the whip, and
| was on the way to my destination.
In this way nearly every American is IN
troduced to the London cabmanI and If ht
has luggage il is generally the driver of {
fonrwheeler that he first meets. 1t is pro
posed in this series of letters to give pie
ture OF the lights and shadows of working
| life in London. The first of the Toilers o
London will he the London cabman. Few
work harder than the cabmen, and Will
the exception OF few months in summer
the work is of the most disagreeable sort.
THE GONDOLA or LONDON.
The cabman, as have said, is about the
first person you come in personal contact
with on entering London, and he is gener
! ally with you on the day and hour of YOU
departure. During your stay in the metro
polls he contributes more or less to YOU
comfort or misery. If your knowledge o
the city is limited and pocket-bOOk wei
! filed, many hours are likely to be spent il
the London cab. Few Americans visiting
| London will fail to recall some Incident
pleasant or other wise, in connection will
what Lord BeacOnsiield used to call tn
! Gondola of London. | remember one,
hearing Lord ROsebery comment ON thi
remark of the great Tory leader. He re
frrred 10 ByrOn'S lines-''Silent lows tn
souglcss gondolier,' and rtiOiced to thinl
that the driver of the Hanson did not at
tempt to charm the night by music. Thi
il perhaps true though most of us hav
heard music p seeding from the interiO
Tecf such vehicles. / have frequently reat
aec0nESs OF rt9sSons having been born il
hackney carriages, and many persons have
been known to die in them. That useful
old London gossip writer, Rainy day
smith, took his first observation of life in
a hackney coach, and boosted of it.
Smith was quite a distinguished man in
his day. He was kissed by beautiful Mrs.
Robinson, patted on the head By DIR John
son, held Sir John Reynolds spectaCles,
shared pot OF porter with an elephant,
saved Lady Hamilton from falling when
she heard the news of Nelson's death, con-
versed three times with George III, and
was shut up in a room with Rean'S lion.
but am DEPRESSING. It's not improbable
that marriages may have taken place III
HACKNEY coaches. Such weddings might
be termed thorough runaway matches.
There is all the attraction, all the
mystery, all the imperSonality about the
,ab that there is about the gOndOla. The
iriver of the Hanson Is himself mystery
hanging, rs he does. all day between
muddy earth and fOggy heaven, like
Iahomet's coffin. Think of the joys, the
torrows, the rOmances, the meetings, The
lartings, and even the crimes that the cab
nan in a measure participates in, and yet
l. we may Judge from the imperturbabl'
font he presents TO the word, life make
bat faint impress upon him. Your ar
rival To him is the same as your departure
Your joyous greetings affect him no NOR
tlan your departing tears. You are simply
the fare. Who you are and what you ar,
is equally unimpOrtant You may be al
archbishop or fraudulent bank clerk.
noble duke or 'tenpenny" government
Writer, if you pay your fare it's all tn
same. Your object may be to perpetuat
a murder or deliver a sermon. 1t is Of M
oASequence to the driver.
| A GAY AND POLISHED MAN.
It has been said that the omnibus driver
compared with the Hansome cab driver
is q gay and polished man of the world
with opportunities for cultivating sOcia
sentiments and exhibiting social graces oil
the knife-bnard. l have frequently beef
entertained from the Bank to Knights
bridge by an omnibus driver, and my re
latidns with the drivers Of four-wheeler
have at times been cordial, but is is a mucl
more difficult matter to get into the shel
Of by far the more numerous class Of cab
men in London, the driver of the Hanson
Perhh ps it is Just as well that he does not
gOSSiP b. The stories cabman conld unfOl'
wOulH D make interesting reading, and
Jubii lee history of the Monarch OF Lon
don cab for atty yeaFs would be more spicy
=